Carbon Dioxide Lab

CrITICAl THINkING IssUe

Should Carbon dioxide Be Regulated Along with other Major Air Pollutants?

The six common pollutants, sometimes called the criteria pol- lutants, are ozone, particulate matter, lead, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. These pollutants have a long history with the EPA, and major efforts have been made to reduce them in the lower atmosphere over the United States. This effort has been largely successful—all of them have been significantly reduced since 1990.

In 2009, the EPA suggested that we add carbon dioxide to this list. Two years earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court had or- dered the EPA to make a scientific review of carbon dioxide as an air pollutant that could possibly endanger public health and welfare. Following that review, the EPA announced that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. This proclamation makes it possible that greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, will be regulated by the Clean Air Act, which regulates most other serious air pollutants.

The EPA’s conclusion that greenhouse gases harm or en- danger public health and welfare is based primarily on the role these gases play in climate change. The analysis states that the impacts include, but are not limited to, increased drought that will impact agricultural productivity; more intense rainfall, leading to a greater flood hazard; and increased frequency of heat waves that affect human health. The EPA’s proposal pro- gram to regulate carbon dioxide as an air pollutant has been upheld by court decisions

The next step in adding carbon dioxide and other green- house gasses, such as methane, to the list of pollutants regulated by the EPA was a series of public hearings and feedback from a variety of people and agencies. Some people oppose listing carbon dioxide as an air pollutant because, first of all, it is a nutrient and stimulates plant growth; and, second, it does not

directly affect human health in most cases (the exception being carbon dioxide emitted by volcanic eruption and other volcanic activity, which can be extremely toxic).

The EPA in late September of 2013 announced the initial steps to reduce carbon pollution under President Obama’s Cli- mate Action Plan. The objective will be standards for new coal burning power plants. Conversations are starting to develop standards for existing power plants.

Critical Thinking Questions

After going over the information concerning global climate change and the role of carbon dioxide in causing change, con- sider the following questions: 1. Do you think carbon dioxide, along with other greenhouse

gases, should be controlled under the Clean Air Act? Why? Why not?

2. Assuming carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are to be controlled under the Clean Air Act, what sorts of pro- grams might be used for such control? For example, the con- trol of sulfur dioxide was primarily through a cap-and-trade program where the total amount of emissions were set, and companies bought and sold shares of allowed pollution up to the cap.

3. If the United States can curtail emissions of carbon diox- ide under the Clean Air Act, how effective will this be in, say, reducing the global concentration of carbon dioxide to about 350 parts per million given what other countries are likely to do in the future with respect to emissions and given that the concentration today is about 390 parts per million?

(Botkin 546)

Botkin, Daniel B. Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet, 9th Edition. Wiley, 2013-12-23. VitalBook file.

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